Author: Antonian Lara

THE ARMENIAN AND TURKISH FMS HAD A TALK

Aysor
April 14 2010
Armenia

On the working dinner served by the U.S. Secretary of State Hilary
Clinton to honor the foreign ministers taking part in the nuclear
security summit in Washington the Armenian and Turkish Foreign
Ministers Edward Nalbandian and Ahmet Davutoglu had a talk, informs
the Press Office of the RA Foreign Ministry.

The conversation of the ministers concerned the continuation of the
discussions held yesterday by the Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan
and Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

LARISA ALAVERDYAN: ARMENIAN-TURKISH PROCESS STILL IN DEADLOCK

PanARMENIAN.Net
April 14, 2010 – 18:19 AMT 13:19 GMT

Secretary of Heritage parliamentary group Larisa Alaverdyan said that
the statements by Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan during his visit
to Washington prove that the Armenian authorities are not going to
damage relations with the Diaspora.

"However, I would like to note that the signing of the Armenian-Turkish
Protocols has significantly effected these relations," Mrs. Alaverdyan
told a press conference in Yerevan.

She noted that Heritage questions the efficiency of the meeting between
the Armenian President and Turkish Prime Minister in Washington, as
"separating lines" between Armenia and Turkey were defined more clearly
after it. "The meeting has not solved the current problems, to the
contrary – it has alienated the parties even more," the parliamentarian
said, adding that the Armenian-Turkish process is still in a deadlock.

According to Mrs. Alaverdyan, the main reason for the postponement
of the Armenian-Turkish Protocols ratification by Turkey is not the
factor of Azerbaijan but rather Ankara’s inability to solve three
tasks simultaneously – termination of the worldwide campaign for
recognition of the Armenian Genocide, achievement of progress in the
Karabakh conflict settlement and recognition of its borders by Armenia.

As for the usage of the term Genocide by Barack Obama on April 24,
she said it will be in focus of U.S. electors, who expect their
President to keep his election pledge.

"After April 24, the Armenian-Turkish process will continue at a
very low rate. We believe that sooner or later a new process should
be started," the Secretary of Heritage parliamentary group said.

As to Azerbaijan’s threats of war, she thinks resumption of hostilities
in Karabakh unlikely.

NALBANDYAN-LAVROV MEETING IN WASHINGTON

Tert.am
11:42 14.04.10

Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandyan held a meeting with
his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov in the framework of the World
Nuclear Security Summit in Washington on April 13.

The two diplomats discussed a wide range of bilateral issues.

Nalbandyan and Lavrov also spoke about Armenia-Russia cooperation
in the framework of the OSCE and UN. They also exchanged ideas
over the situation in the region, including the settlement of the
Nagorno-Karabakh issue.

BAKU’S PROBLEMS OVER KARABAKH

The Messenger
April 13 2010
Georgia

Official Baku stresses that Armenia is ignoring the principles of
regulating the Karabakh conflict suggested by the OSCE Minsk Group,
and the Madrid principles too, but no pressure is being put on it by
the international community. Azeri newspaper Zerkalo comments that
the normalisation of Armenian-Turkish relations means Armenia is
winning rather than losing by taking such steps.

Baku is now taking some controversial steps, such as flirting with
Moscow and thus straining its relations with the West, but Baku has not
received from Moscow the kind of support it wanted. Moscow did not take
Baku’s side, and thus betray Yerevan. Baku has tried to apply pressure
on Turkey through its energy transport, but this has not worked either.

Azerbaijan now has a threefold problem. It has received no relief
concerning Karabakh, Baku’s flirtation with Russia has not yielded
positive results and relations with Turkey have become somewhat
controversial. Although Azerbaijan will not change its position on
Karabakh, upholding it continues to cause problems.

JAVAKHK DIASPORA OF RUSSIA CALLS ON GEORGIAN POLITICIANS TO SUPPORT ARMENIAN PEOPLE

PanARMENIAN.Net
April 13, 2010 – 17:09 AMT 12:09 GMT

The Javakhk Diaspora of Russia sent an appeal to leaders of opposition
parties and movements of Georgia with respect to the 95th anniversary
of the Armenian Genocide.

"The 95th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide is marked this year. On
April 24, 1915, the Ottoman Empire started mass annihilation of
Armenians. Over 1.5 million Armenians have become victims of the
massacres, while hundreds of thousand Armenians had to leave their
lands and migrate. The Armenian Genocide has become the first
large-scale crime of the 20th century against humanity by ethnic
feature. The actions of the imperial Turkish government comply
with corpus delicti of Genocide and fall under its definition in
international law.

The current authorities of Georgia ignore numerous appeals of Armenians
to recognize the Armenian Genocide, while Turkey rejects its fact
and distorts the truth. We have repeatedly stated that the Armenian
Genocide recognition will force Turkey to respect international
opinion, to wipe off the "dirt" from its people’s face and establish
good neighborly relations with its important neighbors – Armenia and
Georgia. This is the most real and fair way to solve the issue of
establishing peace at South Caucasus," the appeal reads.

WATERTOWN’S ARMENIAN MUSEUM OFFERS FREE ADMISSION APRIL 18-25

Watertown TAB & Press
April 13 2010
MA

WATERTOWN — As Armenians commemorate the 95th anniversary of the
Armenian Genocide this month, the Armenian Library and Museum of
America in Watertown will extend its museum hours and offer free
admission from April 18-25.

The Museum will be open every day from 1 to 5 p.m. in addition to
its regular Museum hours.

Visitors can see an exhibit on the ongoing cultural genocide, a
permanent installation on the Armenian genocide, and a fascinating
exhibit titled "Who Are the Armenians?" among several other exhibits.

ALMA is the largest Armenian museum in the Diaspora and the largest
ethnic museum in Massachusetts with more than 20,000 artifacts and
27,000 library titles in its collections. Its exhibits intend to
highlight and honor the rich heritage, history and culture of the
Armenian people.

ALMA is located at 65 Main St. in Watertown, Mass. Metered parking
is available in the municipal parking lot located directly behind ALMA.

LAWMAKER: ARMENIA HAILS EVERY EFFORT TO PREVENT NAZISM GLORIFICATION

/ARKA/
April 12, 2010
YEREVAN

Armenia hails every effort to prevent Nazism glorification, Hermine
Naghdalyan, the head of the economic committee at the National Assembly
of Armenia, said Monday at a Moscow-Minsk-Kiev- Chisinau-Yerevan
video bridge in Novosti International Press Center in Yerevan.

"We find revision and falsification of the war facts as well as lapses
of historical memory very dangerous," she said at this video bridge
dedicated to the victory in World War II.

Naghdalyan thinks that legislative and executive authorities should
do whatever necessary to prevent dissemination of Nazi ideas among
the youth.

Addressing her colleagues participating in the video bridge, Naghdalyan
said: "This produces very regrettable results, which are sometimes
seen today. We attach great importance to your efforts, support you and
ask you to remain steadfast in your determination to stop this."

BAYRAM SAFAROV: "ARMENIA SHOULD SERIOUSLY THINK ABOUT THE SOLUTION TO THE CONFLICT"

APA
April 12 2010
Azerbaijan

Baku. Lachin Sultanova-APA. "Recent statements by president Serzh
Sargsyan on self-determination of the population of Nagorno Karabakh
are not serious.

The manifestation of such a position is an open demonstration of
unwillingness to early settlement of the conflict", said Chairman of
the Public Union "Azerbaijani community of Nagorno Karabakh" Bayram
Safarov in his interview to the website of New Azerbaijan Party,
APA reports.

Safarov noted that the opinion of the Azerbaijani community on
determination the Nagorno Karabakh status should be taken into
consideration as well: "This is not only a position of Azerbaijani
side, but also the position of OSCE Minsk Group. The co-chairs have
spoken about it several times".

To the community chairman, despite these statements by Armenian
president, Armenians residing in Nagorno-Karabakh want to remain
within Azerbaijan: "The accelerated development of Azerbaijan is
clear to the entire world. Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh are living
in poor conditions. So simple Armenians want to stay and live within
Azerbaijan.

Bayram Safarov said that Armenia should seriously think about the
solution to the conflict: "Azerbaijan has strong army that is ready
to liberate the occupied territories".

PROTOCOLS’ RATIFICATION IN TURKISH PARLIAMENT IS ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE: ZAMAN

news.am
April 12 2010
Armenia

NEWS.am posts the full text of Turkish analyst Yavuz Baydar’s article
"Sargsyan and Erdogan: What to do now?" on Turkish Zaman daily website.

"After some & ‘ifs and buts’ Turkish Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan
and FM Ahmet Davutoglu will be present in Washington, D.C., for the
nuclear security summit and will use the occasion to intensely discuss
where to go in the paralyzed &’normalization process’ with Armenia,"
the source reports.

"Developments in the global scene should have taught Turkish leaders
that the historic dimensions of what happened to Ottoman Armenians in
1915 need proper closure, before the centenary of the Great Armenian
Tragedy in 2015. The pursuit of truth by independent scholars will have
to go on, and the media will commemorate this event — among other
tragedies in the horrendous 20th century-with old and new material,"
the daily reads.

"One such example was a detailed documentary aired by German ARD TV.

Called &’Aghet’ (Catastrophe), the 90-minute program contained some
new material, also highlighting the passive involvement of German
officers (Ottoman allies in World War I) and the open knowledge of
Berlin of what took place in Anatolia," the source says.

"But what will be done today is at least as important as knowing
more about the past. All the sides involved now act with knowledge
that time is the enemy of the process, particularly in regard to
the political &’high pressure’ in Turkey and a growing concern that
political forces in Armenia against &’normalization’ might replace
RA President Serzh Sargsyan in the next elections. The U.S. Congress
has become irritated by what it saw as &’Ankara dragging its feet,
just to leave the issue to posterity.’

In today’s Turkey, passing the protocols in Parliament is almost
impossible, given the difficult circumstances and an overloaded
agenda. On the other hand, Yerevan knows that the patience expected
of it might strengthen the mindset in Armenia that &’Turks are never
to be trusted.’

&’What to do? The recent visits to Yerevan and Baku by Feridun
Sinirlioglu, Turkish FM undersecretary, seem to have eased the tension
a bit. Yet the real deal will be in Washington, on what to say and
do and how to involve the two leaders in some concrete steps, which
seem necessary. The priority might be given to those steps that do
not necessitate an approval of the Protocols in the parliaments,’
the daily informs.

"A fine set of short-term proposals are to be found in a fresh paper
written by Thomas de Waal-a prominent expert on the Caucasus-for
the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. He outlines the
following points: a) an opening of the Armenia-Turkey border for
noncommercial travelers; b) a limited opening of a zone next to the
Armenia-Turkey border that contains the medieval Armenian city of Ani,
now just inside Turkish territory; c) a Turkish government initiative
to invite Diaspora Armenians to visit the ancient Armenian heritage
sites of Anatolia; and d) the opening of a regular Turkish Airlines
route between Istanbul and Yerevan. De Waal also suggests that the
Azerbaijani exclave of Nakhchivan is a "potential ‘win-win’ area"
in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, noting, "All sides would win if
Armenia were to agree to open up communications and rebuild shared
infrastructure with Nakhchivan in tandem with the opening of the
Armenia-Turkey border," the author adds.

In addition, Ankara "may encourage respected Turkish universities to
invite prominent scholars of the diaspora for a series of regular(ized)
conferences in Turkey with independent (not &’state sponsored’)
Turkish academics to openly discuss (not bargain over) the history,"
he reckons.

These conferences are likely to prepare the stage for the "long-term
strategy" for 2015. In conclusion the expert refers to President Obama:
"The president could deliver a message on April 24, 2010, in which
he notes that the centenary commemorations are now five years away
and pledges that, if still in office, he will join in those events
(perhaps even in Yerevan), but in which he also promises the Turks a
little peace until then by affirming his faith in the internal debate
in Turkey. Obama could say, ‘We hope to mark this tragic date with
our Turkish friends, and not without them’."

"I can only agree. The ARD documentary, revealing &’passive German
involvement,’ and, to a degree, a &’shared responsibility,’ is also
helpful in a sense that Turkey can and must be assisted by its friends
to develop a ‘joint link’ to its past," the analyst concludes.

PRIME MINISTER OF TURKEY SURE THAT TURKISH-U.S. RELATIONS HAVE EASED

ArmInfo
2010-04-12 13:09:00

ArmInfo. Turkey’s Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on April 11 before
flying to the United States that Turkish-U.S. relations had become
less rigid, thanks to talks between executives after the Committee
on Foreign Affairs of the U.S. House of Representatives adopted a
resolution acknowledging the Armenian allegations on the incidents
of 1915, Turkish mass media report.

"Our relations are milder now after the U.S. Secretary of State
called our Foreign Minister, and we have sent back our ambassador to
Washington D.C.", Erdogan said. He also said Turkey was still backing
its views expressed in a letter sent to former Armenian President
Robert Kocharian in 2005. Turkey thought such issues could not be
solved by parliaments, but they should be handled by historical
committees, Erdogan said.

To recall, Turkey had recalled its ambassador to the United States
Namik Tan after the Foreign Relations Committee of the United
States House of Representatives adopted a resolution on the Armenian
Genocide. Tan returned to Washington D.C. on April 6.